This invention relates to an apparatus for encrusting a filling material, such as bean jam. More particularly, it relates to an apparatus for encrusting a filling material, such as bean jam, in which the timing and speed of opening and closing a shutter apparatus comprising shutter members of a cutting apparatus can be conveniently controlled.
A conventional apparatus relating to this invention is described in Japanese Patent No. 2641033. The apparatus disclosed in this patent includes a mechanism to open and close a shutter apparatus. It is comprised of shutter members of a cutting apparatus. The shutter members can be reciprocally rotated around pins that are located at regular intervals. The pins are connected to each other by linking members so that they interlock. One of the linking members is pivoted on a crank arm. It is connected to the shaft of a first control motor so that the crank arm reciprocates.
Also, a second control motor is used to rotate a cam mechanism. According to the movements of the cam mechanism, both the conveyor that receives an encrusted food product and the cutting apparatus are moved up and down.
In that conventional apparatus the opening and closing operations of the shutter apparatus carried out by the shutter members can be controlled independently of the up and down movements of the cutting apparatus. In that apparatus, so as to change the rates that the products are produced, for example, daily or hourly the rotations of the motors can be controlled to change the speeds of the up and down movements of the conveyor and the cutting apparatus. At that time, the timing of the opening and closing operations of the shutter members have to be controlled to meet the change of the speeds of the up and down movements of the conveyor and the cutting apparatus.
In that conventional apparatus the first control motor is used to open and close the shutter apparatus. However, it is not used to control the up and down movements of the conveyor and the cutting apparatus. They are controlled by the second control motor. Thus, in line with the timing of those movements of the conveyor and the cutting apparatus, the timing of the opening and closing operations must be controlled by changing the directions and the angles of the rotation of the shaft of the first control motor, and the timing of the starting and stopping of the reciprocal movements of the shutter members. These changes are complex and troublesome.
This invention was conceived to overcome the disadvantages discussed above. According to one concept of this invention, an apparatus is provided to encrust a filling material such as bean jam. It includes a cutting apparatus that includes a plurality of shutter members to cut a bar-like food material that is supplied by a combining nozzle. The shutter members can be swung or reciprocally rotated so that the shutter apparatus can be opened and closed. The cutting apparatus is moved up and down. The apparatus for encrusting a filling material also includes a food-receiving apparatus to receive a food material that is cut by the cutting apparatus into encrusted food products, a first control motor to open and close the plurality of the shutter members, and a second control motor to move the cutting apparatus and the food-receiving apparatus up and down. The reference position for the first control motor is set on a certain point on the shaft of it when the front ends of the shutter members are met at the center position of the shutter apparatus, or on a certain point on the same shaft that is shifted 180xc2x0 in phase, or on a certain point on the shaft of it when the shutter members are opened, or on a certain point on the same shaft that is shifted 180xc2x0 in phase.
The reference position for the second control motor is set on a certain point on the shaft of it when the food-receiving apparatus ascends to the highest point or descends to the lowest point.
The first and second control motors are rotated in one direction. A first cam mechanism is located between the first control motor and a shutter-opening and-closing mechanism, which opens and closes the shutter members of the cutting apparatus. The first cam mechanism is rotated in one direction so that the shutter members may be opened and closed by means of the shutter-opening and-closing mechanism. Also, a second cam mechanism is located between the second control motor and a mechanism to move the food-receiving apparatus up and down. The second cam mechanism is rotated in one direction so that the food-receiving apparatus may be moved up and down by the moving-up and-down mechanism.
A motor controller is located to control the speed of the rotation at a range of desired angles of the rotation during one revolution of each or both of the first and second control motors.
The first and second control motors can be synchronously rotated. Either or both of the first and second control motors can be conveniently controlled over the range of the angles of the rotation.
A memory device may be located in the motor controller to store patterns for controlling the first and second control motors.